2012 VBS Timeline: 6-9 Months Before Your VBS

Begin your VBS planning with prayer. Pray with your ministry staff, organize a prayer team, and begin asking God to guide and direct your VBS planning. Next, choose your dates and time for your VBS program. If you do a VBS plus a sports camp, choose the dates for both. Put them on the church calendar and add them the church website.

Click on the VBS Timeline above to see the larger and expanded view. Visit Shop VBS to see the VBS overviews and Scripture themes for 2012.  At Shop VBS you can listen to music and video clips, see the daily Bible lessons, find VBS hints and tips, and read our report, "Seven Steps to a Succesful VBS." You can also download a VBS Comparison Chart we've put together to help you decide which program(s) you'd like to review.

Group's Babylon VBS

New for 2012, Group's Babylon VBS is the Bible in motion! Your kids will experience the ultimate VBS Bible-times adventure. They will learn that Daniel was way more than the guy who survived a den of hungry lions. At Babylon VBS, kids and adults will find that they're not much different from Daniel and his friends, who kept their faith in a faithless culture.

The Babylon Ultimate Starter Kit comes complete with step-by-step instructions for planning your event, recruiting and equipping volunteers, setting a daily program schedule, and turning your church into a Bible-times adventure.

Babylon VBS Ultimate Starter Kit: $112.50 (Reg. Price $124.99)

Take a look at the Babylon VBS course overview below. Check back for VBS updates each week. Visit Shop VBS to see all of the 2012 VBS programs and descriptions.

Bible Point: When things change, God is with you. Key Verse:  "For God has said, 'I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.' " (Hebrews 13:5)

Bible Point: When you need help, God is with you. Key Verse: "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble." (Psalm 46:1)

Bible Point: When you're afraid, God is with you. Key Verse: "Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God." (Isaiah 41:10)

Bible Point: When you're lonely, God is with you. Key Verse: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)

Bible Point: When you're thankful, God is with you. Key Verse: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever." (1 Chronicles 16:34)

Gospel Light's VBS Sneak Preview: SonRise National Park

Next summer, get ready for exciting wilderness thrills as you take your kids to beautiful SonRise National Park VBS. Kids will be awestruck by snow-capped mountains, thundering waterfalls, flowering meadows, soaring eagles, and herds of caribou.

As kids explore SonRise National Park, they'll learn the most important survival skill of all: they can always depend on Jesus and His promises of true peace, true riches, true power, true love, and true hope!

Best of all, as kids journey through the park, they will learn to trust Jesus as their all-powerful guide and Savior.

SonRise Super Starter Kit ($300 value): $199.99 

SonRise VBS Starter Kit ($150 value): $79.99

Take a look at the SonRise VBS course overview. Click on the image below for a larger version. Check back here at Diapers to Disciples for VBS updates and more sneak previews each week. Then visit Shop VBS to compare VBS programs, view details, and order your starter kits. Most kits ship in December.

Preparing for Harvest

Use harvest season decorations to give your church a new, inviting look for fall. Add borders such as this Autumn in Clay Border around doorways and windows as well for traditional bulletin board trims.

Choose creative church members to select ideas from the following suggestions. They also may have some creative ideas of their own, using items available in your community. The helpers can do the decorations themselves or form a decorating committee. Have your Sunday school classes, Bible clubs, mom's groups and others meeting at your church make harvest decorations to spruce up your church.

Cut leaf shapes in various colors and sizes to use as wall decorations and name tags for your harvest events. (Or, if you prefer not to have to cut out leaves yourself, pick up a few Falling Leaves Designer Cutouts instead. They come in a package of 36.)

Make pumpkin garlands from orange construction paper. Use the garlands along with orange, green, and brown crepe paper around doorways, windows, hung from the ceiling, and as runners across table tops. Decorate your bulletin boards with Pumpkin Borders (35 feet of trim).

Ask families to bring in harvest items from home to decorate hallways, windowsills, shelves, and table tops: pumpkins, gourds, miniature bales of hay, colorful leaves, nuts, apples, squash, dried corn husks, scarecrows, baskets, bushel barrels, cornucopias, colorful rocks, pussy willows, fall flowers, etc. Make a large banner for one or more walls that reads, "The Harvest Is the Lord's." Post a similar banner at the children's eye level for your young students to decorate with crayons or markers.

Have children draw pictures of people for whom they are thankful. Hang the pictures on the walls after they are signed by their artists. Hang Harvest Attendance Charts in your classrooms. These come with 1400 matching stickers.

Draw harvest fruits and vegetables onto construction paper. Cut them out and hang them from drinking straws or dowel rods to make mobiles. Hang extra shapes from ceilings, windows, and in doorways.

Collect canned food to give to a local homeless shelter or food pantry. Let your students decorate large collection boxes to place around your church campus. Have bundles of dried corn stalks standing nearby. Arrange pumpkins, squash, and dried gourds around the base. Use these as collection spots for your food drive.

For more harvest decorating and outreach ideas, take a look at A Church Family Harvest Celebration program book with CD-ROM from Christian Ed Warehouse.

If your church holds a harvest festival or other fall event, invite your community to join your congregation. Then invite the visitors to return for worship, Sunday school, and Bible clubs!

Main Street VBS: Prodigal Son Craft

Let your students make a story wheel to help them remember the story of the Prodigal Son from Day 4 of Inside Out and Upside Down on Main Street VBS. Bring a dinner-size paper plate and a paper fastener for each child and copy the pattern page below. Provide scissors, crayons or markers, and glue. Talk about the story of the Prodigal Son to help the children review the story events.

Have the children cut out the word strips, the arrow and the story circle. Let them glue the story circle in the middle of the paper plate and glue the corresponding word strip next to each picture. Let older children help younger ones read the word strips and match them to the pictures. Punch a hole in the arrow as indicated. Poke a hole in the middle of the paper plate. Help each child add the arrow to the plate with the paper fastener.

Talk about the events in the Bible story as the children move their arrows to the appropriate picture. Then say the memory verse together a few times.

Click on the image below to download the craft pattern for just $3.99. Then make as many copies as you need for your students.

Click on the image above to download the craft.

VBS Appreciation Idea & Thank-You Note

Print this thank-you card to let your VBS volunteers know they are appreciated. Feel free to replace the star with your own VBS logo. Then copy or print the page for every two workers and cut the page in half. Fold each card in half and add a personal note or VBS memory inside.

For an inexpensive gift, purchase an All-Stars for Jesus water bottle for each of your volunteers. Place a plastic bag of chocolate hugs or jellybeans or a single-serving sports drink mix inside. Twist the lid back on. Punch a hole in the card and slip a ribbon through the hole. Tie the ribbon around the water bottle. Give a bottle to each of your workers on the last day of VBS (or midweek so they can use the water bottle during VBS). Explain that you appreciated the way the volunteers helped the children feel like stars in Jesus' eyes. Then present a bottle to each worker.

Click on the image above to download the card.

Follow Up VBS with a Harvest Outreach Program

VBS may be just around the corner, but it's not too soon to start planning for a follow-up program. Get new families to come back to your church with a fun, faith-building fall festival or Halloween alternative. On the last day of your VBS program, hand out invitations to your fall festival. (Reproducible bulletin inserts, posters, and flyers are included on the CD-ROM.)

This flexible program can also be used for a Thanksgiving service of Psalms, an easy-to-do pageant about the story of Ruth, an optional puppet skit, ice-breakers, service projects, and more! 

If you're looking for harvest ideas, a Thanksgiving program, fall festival games, crafts, and outreach ideas, take a look at the Church Family Harvest Celebration outreach program with lots of reproducibles on CD-ROM. (Including the coloring pages shown below.)

This easy-to-use instruction guide tells you all you need to know—whether you've been planning church events for 25 years or this is your first time! Includes promotion and programming ideas, recipes for refreshments, games, craft instruction sheets, recipes, and lots more. Take a look at the contents and view sample pages from the Church Family Harvest Celebration.

Here are just a few of the ways you can use this flexible program:

• Perfect for Back-to-School, Thanksgiving, or Halloween alternative
• Step-by-step instructions for planning and set-up
• Reproducible instruction sheets and patterns
• Christ-centered games and crafts
• Quick and easy decorations and centerpieces
• Missions project ideas

Try out these coloring pages from the Church Family Harvest Celebration. There are two separate coloring pages in this file. Each coloring page has a memory verse. There is a coloring page in the file for the New International Version and a separate page for the King James Version. If you use a different Bible version than the ones given, feel free to cut off or white out the verse and replace it with the version you prefer.

You can make as many copies of these coloring pages as you need for your children's program. Click on either image below to download the harvest coloring pages. Visit our Sunday school downloads store for more coloring pages, crafts, and puzzle downloads—many as low as $1.99 each! We even have coloring pages and crafts designed especially for your VBS program. Visit our VBS downloads store  for more downloads especially for vacation Bible school. May God bless you as you prepare to teach children (and their families) about the harvest season and how much God loves them.

VBS 2011 Coloring Pages

Here are some coloring pages we’ve created for the 2011 VBS programs.

For each program, there is a coloring page for every day of VBS—a total of five pages. Each coloring page has the daily memory verse and the Bible theme. If you have younger children, you can feel free to shorten the verse by whiting out (or taping over) the final phrase before copying the coloring page. Each coloring page shows a picture to complement the Bible memory verse or Bible point for that day. The coloring pages come in sets of five pages for just $4.99 per set. The best part is, you can make as many copies as you need!

For Nazareth, there is a set of coloring pages for the New Living Translation, a separate set for the New International Version, and a separate set for the King James Version. (The NLT is the version used on the Bible memory makers.) 

(Click on the images above to go to the download pages—NLT is on the left, NIV is on the right, and KJV is on the bottom.)

For your SonSurf VBS, there is a set of coloring pages for the New International Version and a separate set for the King James Version. (The NIV verses are used on the Connection Cards and other SonSurf printed materials.)

(Click on the images above to download the pages—

KJV is on the left and NIV is on the right)

For the Main Street VBS, every coloring page has a portion of the daily memory verse, I Timothy 4:12. Each day we've added a few more words to the verse so by Day 5 the entire verse is shown. There is a set of coloring pages for the New International Version and a separate set for the King James Version. (These are the versions used on the Bible memory posters.) 

(Click the images above to download the pages—

KJV is on the left and the NIV is on the right)

For the PandaMania VBS, there is a coloring page for the New International Version and one for the New Living Version. At the end of your VBS week, your students will have all five of the memory verses—a fun keepsake reminder of their week at vacation Bible school.

(Click images above to download the PandaMania coloring pages—

NLT is on the left and the NIV is on the right)

If you’d like to take a look at any of these VBS Starter Kits, visit Shop VBS for more information and to order your starter kits. Watch for more coloring pages coming soon (Gold Rush, Mega Sports Camp: Go the Distance, and Kickin' It Old School).

SonSurf VBS Ideas

The large SonSurf Coloring Mural is a great way to involve all your kids in your beach bash! Let your students color the large 77" x 44" mural before VBS to introduce them to the theme (and to help decorate your hallways). Or you can hang the mural during VBS and have children color it as they arrive each day. Place some old boogie boards or subskates near the mural for kids to stand on while they color.

Tape one mural to the wall in your preschool room (at the children's eye level) and let your little ones add SonSurf Stickers (pack of 10) and color the mural during their free play times.

PandaMania VBS Craft: Jonah Puppet

The Bible Point for Day 3 of PandaMania VBS is "God watches over you." The Bible story is about Jonah trying to run from God. Download this Jonah craft for just $1.99 and make as many copies as you need for your students.

Before your VBS, print stickers with the memory verse in the Bible version you use for Psalm 139:12 — "Even in darkness I cannot hide from you." Print one sticker for each child. Also print the craft pages below for each child. Cut a slit in the boat on each first page. Have fabric scraps and craft sticks available.

During the lesson, have a child read the memory verse aloud from the Bible. Say it together a few times.

Then tell the story of Jonah and the big fish. After you tell the story, hand out scissors, crayons, glue or tape, and a craft stick to each child. Let each child cut out the Jonah puppet and add a craft stick handle to it. The child can glue a fabric scrap on the sail and print his name on the puppet and the boat. Older children can print the memory verse on the back of the boat.

Show the child how to slide the puppet into the slit to show Jonah on the boat. As you retell the story, have him jump Jonah out of the boat and into the waves. Explain that God took care of Jonah and provided a big fish to carry him to land. Say, "Just as God took care of Jonah and watched over him, God cares for us and watches over us." Say the memory verse together once more. Explain that God is with us wherever we go. Encourage the children to take home their crafts and tell the story of Jonah to their family members and friends.

Click here to download the craft.

You may also want to download the PandaMania Coloring Pages—a set of five coloring pages with the Bible Point and daily memory verse for just $4.99. Available in NIV or NLT memory verses. Just copy as many as you need each day.

Big Wave Discovery

Take a look at this all-purpose beach-themed course for your preschool and elementary kids. Big Wave Discovery is part of Gospel Light's KidsTime program, and is great as summer Sunday school or as follow-up to your  SonSurf Beach Bash VBS. Keep your kids riding the wave of Jesus' love with this 13-week course for preschool and elementary children ages 3 to 12.

This reproducible curriculum includes high-energy games, art, and worship plus creative Bible storytelling ideas and reproducible music. The entire manual comes on a reproducible CD-ROM. Combine the fun and excitement of being at the beach with answers to questions kids have about God, Jesus, the Bible, prayer, the church, and more.

All this makes it easy for you to get the same excitement from the beach theme, decorations, and publicity used for your summer VBS—plus get your VBS visitors back to church for Sunday school and children's church! Here are just a few ways you can use this course:

1. Summer Sunday school or children's church curriculum
2. Once a month as follow-up in Sunday school, children's church or second hour to keep the excitement of VBS going all year long.
3. An after-school program for neighborhood outreach.

You can use the Big Wave Discovery program even if you don't use SonSurf VBS. You can also use it during Spring break to get children coming to your church before VBS. Then invite them back during the summer for SonSurf VBS (or whichever VBS program you decide to use).

Catch a wave for an exciting faith journey this summer! Your students will learn how the truths found in God's Word serve as a guide for any situation in their lives.

Main Street VBS Ideas

The large Main Street Color-It Mural for Inside Out and Upside Down on Main Street is a great way to involve all your kids! Let children color it before VBS to introduce them to the theme (and help decorate your VBS rooms). Or you can hang it during VBS and have students color it as they arrive. Tape one to the wall in your preschool room (at the children’s eye level) and let your little ones add Main Street Stickers and color the mural during their free play times.

Cover your tables with the Super-Fun Activity Tablecloth. Keep kids active and engaged with this 47" x 72" tablecloth that can be used again and again. Provide dry-erase markers for the children to use to do the puzzles while they wait for the next activity or after finishing their snack or craft.

These bus passes (with lanyards) are great name tags! Use them to help kids get to Main Street and use stickers on the backs of name tags when kids report how they're living out the Word on the Street.

Kids will love collecting the Bible Pin Pals to wear on their ball caps or lanyards. There is a pin for each day of your 5-day VBS program. Each pin includes the Scripture reference for the day and a fun logo to help the kids remember the daily Bible story. Pin Pals come in sets of 5 different pins. Order one set for each child. Each day, have a leader show the children the pin for that day and help them review the Bible story (and memory verse portion) that goes with it. 

Before VBS begins, gather additional pins for each of your leaders to wear. Give your leaders a Main Street Hat (blue ball cap), too. (Ask church families to donate old pins; make sure none have sharp edges.) Display the pins on the leaders' ball caps. Watch for kids who are being kind and helpful each day during your VBS. Then let the kind child choose a pin from those his leader is wearing. Some children may want to trade pins with VBS leaders during the week. Build excitement by featuring a pin trading post that children can visit during their snack time or before and after VBS each day. Kids love to collect pins to wear on their ball caps or lanyards during the week. 

VBS Registration Ideas

One of the most-asked questions for Vacation Bible school planning is, "How will I know how many kids to expect for VBS?" You can help solve this problem by registering kids early and offering a free gift when they sign up. A bookmark, pencil, T-shirt, discount, or CD of the VBS music encourages parents to register early. Plus, giving an incentive builds excitement for your theme. As other families see the incentives you're giving, they also become eager to turn in their own registrations.

Of course, you'll want to order plenty of supplies for those kids who register at the last minute and for visitors who show up on the first day of VBS. Here's a registration form you can copy and use with your own VBS program. Cut the cards apart and give them to parents when they register their children.

The card contains a place to record emergency information and has a section to list allergies and other medical conditions your students may have. For any child with allergies, create a special, brightly colored name badge with the allergies listed so all leaders and helpers are aware of the allergies and don’t inadvertently give the child something that might cause an allergic reaction.

Click on the image above for a larger view.

If you're still trying to decide which VBS to choose for 2011, visit Shop VBS for free samples, music and video clips, and Scripture listings. You'll also find money-saving coupons and special offers. Having your theme picked out and your director's manual in hand will help you with recruiting volunteers and planning.

Christmas Lesson: Jesus' Birth

Here's a Bible lesson and some activity pages you can use with your students to help them understand the story of Jesus' birth. Have several children play the parts of an angel, Mary, shepherds, wise men, and King Herod. They will act out the story as it is read by you or one of your older students. Simple costumes are optional.

Click on the image below for a larger view and to download the teacher's lesson page along with the student pages. Feel free to copy these pages for your students and coworkers.

May God bless you this Christmas!

Click on the image above for the complete file.

Mega Sports Camp 2011 VBS: Go the Distance

New for 2011, Mega Sports Camp: Go the Distance from Gospel Publishing House encourages kids to run the race of life God's way, all the way. Five sessions focus on key character traits that help them become better athletes and followers of Jesus. Welcome kids into the ultimate sports-camp experience. Everyone will learn Bible truths and good sportsmanship as they participate in a sports camp lead by Christian mentors.

A simple Key Point each day helps kids remember the point of the day, even if they have no prior church attendance or experience. The theme verse for 2011 is "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day." — 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV)

Go the Distance Mega Sports Camp can be used in addition to your traditional VBS, providing a way to reach neighborhood kids who might not attend Vacation Bible school, but who would be interested in signing up for a sports camp. It's also a great way for kids to invite their friends who wouldn't be willing to come to a weekly church event.

Go the Distance Mega Sports Camp teaches kids to run the race of life God's way, all the way.

Go the Distance Starter Kit: $129.99

Take a look at the coloring pages we've included for the Go the Distance Mega Sports Camp. There are six pages: a cover plus a coloring page for each day of your VBS. Each page has a picture of Paul from the daily Bible story plus a portion of the memory verse in the New International Version. Day 5 includes the entire verse, 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV). You can copy as many of the coloring pages as you need each day—all for just $4.99 for the set! Visit Shop VBS to see all of the 2011 VBS programs and special offers. 

2011 VBS Timeline: 7-9 Months Before Your VBS

Here are some things to begin doing now in preparation for your 2011 VBS. First, start praying. You may want to organize a prayer team to start praying for potential leaders and workers for your VBS. Take a look at all the VBS options available and start deciding which ones look best for your church and community. Start choosing VBS Starter Kits to preview. Visit Shop VBS to select several kits to preview for 30 days, risk free. Kits will start shipping in December and January.

Click on the VBS Planning Timeline below to see the larger and expanded view. Print a copy for each of your VBS team members.

Use coupon code SAVEBIG to save $10 on your 2011 VBS Starter Kit when you order by December 10, 2010. You 'll also receive FREE Classroom Decorations plus a FREE book download, "Learning About God" for Grades 1-2. Visit Shop VBS to listen to music and video clips, see the daily Bible lessons and download a VBS Comparison Chart we've put together to help you decide which program(s) you'd like to review.